There is an explanation

It would seem many folks are driving less. The experts don't seem to understand why this is. All their studies seem to indicate its a wide spread phenomena not tied to income levels or to the recent economic downturn. Statisticians, the word itself implies a static response to things, no insight just playing the numbers.
Well this is what I think it is. We have at last figured out there is no open road anymore. That rush hour is a 12-15 hour a day thing pretty much everywhere in the world. And the expense is getting out of hand. Pick any accident, the costs involved are enormous. And the stress of having to concentrate so hard on traffic, trying not to get into a jackpot or reck your car. Then theres driving with the maniacs. They advertise these cars as a thing you have the right to drive as reckless as you want, and they "all go fast". Add to this the incredable video conference software that is available and that even your grandma can operate who needs the pain of traveling? Save the money and grow a garden instead, well you could if you wanted.
Point is where the hell are we going anyway that needs us to own these expensive and  polluting machines. The dream they try to sell us doesn't exist. Tearing up the back roads in an oversized and overpriced 4X4 is not a reality that happens for many. Anyways you may find yourself in jail or worse for destroying the wilderness. I won't even mention the insurance costs.
We are staying in the cave, give everyone an internet connection and live life out in a modern and safe cave, equipped with running water, heat and a place to grow some food. What more do we really need.
7 billion, plugged in and talking to each other, and counting.

I'm a Luck Suck

Well sometimes I think I am, three beautiful children, good health and plenty of food to eat. We all are lucky, lucky to be alive on this incredible planet we call earth. We all get to see, feel and experience the wonders of life. I want to believe no matter what your situation is, being alive is great. Everyone has the  potential of doing great things and making a difference.
But we are a lazy bunch, the mundane chores of everyday living, the work involved to do the right things. For example reusing/recycling. It is hard work doing these things, and there is no immediate payoff for doing this. As our engineers get better and faster at making "new things" everyone kind of forgets that all these things need to be disposed of in a safe and sustainable way. It is of coarse better that you at least try to do the right thing then not but most of us leave a lot to be desired.
China has stopped taking everyones plastic garbage, as much of what goes there ends up in a landfill. It's not that the better plastic is not economical to harvest and reuse, it's that most of it is not. And it gets made in the thousands of kilo's used on a daily basis. The agricultural industry is stumped as to what to do, as they use enormous amounts of plastic to pack and ship food. If China is not taking it what are they to do with it?
This is the biggest problem we face, because it will involve a brand new way of living on this planet. We can't keep using and throwing away all this stuff. A new economic model is needed and we all have to do better as this world is very populated and we have reached the tipping point. Growth at all costs has to stop, sustainability must be the model we strive for. The question is, are we too lazy to get it done. Is everyone just going to wait for the next guy to do it.
7 billion, ignoring the truth, and counting

Opting Out

In the 60's there were many that tuned out of the black and white 50's. All it took was some LSD to get everyone to "colour up" the world. Well at least here in Canada and the USA. But as with many other illusions they had, this gave way to pure and hyper drive capitalism. Peace and love to greed and grandstanding. Then at last, women were accepted as breadwinners by the banks and everything took off. Question, how does anyone opt-out?
We've painted ourselves into a corner. There is way too many people in the world to go live in communes, and even if you did you would still need to engage with this economy for cash. There is no way to do this today. Just to find a vacant place to pitch a tent would be a challenge anywhere worth living. We have all become "suburban stupid" with no way out.
But wait, if we used something like Facebook to organize the burbs into small contingents of sharing people we could create something better then opting out. If say 15 to 20 households of like minded people sharing food, tools and anything else the group had to offer the suburbs would become the best of both worlds.
I have proven to myself that growing a large amount of food that is easy to grow can be done, and without chemicals! I see this as the movement that is already in motion. It may even become a necessity to survive during economic upheavals. Ironically, this may well become the economy of the future. It's funny how the smaller we think, the bigger things get. Micro economies, will be the next wave.
7 billion, all involved, and counting

The coming Technology blow out

It would seem that the fall out of the "NSA" spying thing is not going to be limited to your privacy. It has the potential to have a severe effect on the business of software. The thing that is really scary is just how big a back door companies like Microsoft have built in for the NSA.
If you think about the reach that they have it would amount to each and every computer in the world that runs Microsoft Office. If I were a stockholder I would be dumping my shares as there is going to be a very big backlash. Question is what will they replace it with?
How ironic this situation is, you know they can read your files but there is nothing you can replace it with. What would you do? This is a very big "catch 22" but I'm sure that the opportunity will be taken advantage of and it won't be a USA based company. Who in the world will ever trust anything the USA makes.
Those who thought China was being paranoid by blocking the internet access with "the great firewall of China" are now thinking how smart they were and maybe wishing they had done so much sooner. Then you have all the "cloud" applications and the many people who use them. This is wide open to the spying eyes of the NSA.
I find myself thinking of John Lennon's Imagine. All the people, living life in peace and sharing everything with the US government. Well it would appear that the world could be all connected, we could have no more countries, but the religion thing would be a tough one. I imagine the lines blurring, that many governments could fall. And really, are we that different? Our DNA would suggest we are not.
7 billion, waiting to see the fallout, and counting

Too old to change?

For the past 4 years I've embarked on changes to my life that many people have said they could not do. Quitting smoking, becoming a vegetarian to living with my ex wife in the family home. Then there are the behaviour changes I needed to make. Ones that are deep and difficult to overcome. Those ones were maybe easier then when I was young, the aging process has a way of calming you down.
Back to the point I still find it hard to believe that many people will not change regardless of the evidence before them. I stopped drinking 28 years ago, it was plain to me that my continued habit would ruin any chance I had at raising our first child. Alcohol is in my opinion the most dangerous drug there is. But I thought this would calm my temper, but it did not. I quit eating meat and dairy, this was a big one. The cravings and feelings of "kill, kill, kill" still nag at me. A very ingrained thing eating meat. But the evidence was overwhelming, not to mention the way our meat is raised. It has gone so far from good and nutritional there is no way I will ever eat it again.
The big one in most minds is "quitting smoking". To me every time I thought about it I would light up another. The brain makes all these associations with smoking that are hard to ignore. But in the end, when I did do it it was way easier then I thought it would be. I still on occasion dream that I'm smoking. The brain will not give up it's association with this that easy. I liken it to deleting files on a PC. Every time my brain would say "have a smoke" I would delete the entry.
Now I'm on the final one, the big one. Anger management. Ironically we are all cry babies that insist on getting our way, we are all bullies to some degree and anger is the tool we use when it is needed. But then I thought, what is there really to be angry about? The worst things that can happen will, you will hit the wall at some point. And in the end, what does getting your way do for you? I find it an empty feeling after a rage, after bulling someone, after getting my way. I'm finding that taking the high road is way more rewarding, because life is just too dam short.
So go ahead, make a change in your life. It's really not that hard.
7 billion, all starting to grow up, and counting

Food Animals

Zilmax, a drug and name many do not recognize. Even my spell checker does not recognize it! This drug is used to add weight to cattle before they are butchered. It is banned in many countries but not here in Canada or the USA.

In the news today a company, Tyson Foods, has decided to stop processing cattle that are fed this drug. But not because it is bad, but because it is hurting their exports. It would seem many countries are against this as well they should. Reports are surfacing of cows that can't walk, are lethargic and otherwise not well. This of coarse has been happening to chickens for a long time. They are fed in dark barns to the point that they to cannot support their own weight. Hey, if we can fatten up these animals in faster times then we will make more money right? 

The piece I read referred to these animals as "food-animals". Food animals, hmmm I wonder if this somehow makes these creatures different from "regular animals". And how is it okay to be pumping up the "food animals" with drugs that are banned from sports because of the damage they do. And why oh why does everyone think eating animals is good for you, or the environment?

When you say anything about obesity the view is that everyone has become lazy somehow, that the last 20 or 30 years we have all taken to being couch potatoes. No I think it is a direct link to how profit is made in the food industry. Refine, speed it up, add sugar or salt, use less and make more. All these things contribute to obesity. Even vegetables are stretched to the wall with the prices being dictated by the large grocery companies that sell these veggies at very low prices. They sell them this low so you and I are not tempted to grow our own. They need us to come to their stores so we buy up all that processed food they make big profit from. In the meantime these veggies are so nutrient poor, we could never eat enough to give us any health benefits. 

There is a movement taking shape, that most are feed up with this and are trying to eat better. People have coined the term "urban farmers" and are growing better food to eat in their backyards. They would grow it in the front yards but neighbour hood rules stop many from doing this. Seems green grass is more important then good food. I can see it now, kids playing outside and helping themselves to anyones front garden when they are hungry. This would be a good start to eating better. 

We have a long way to go but it has started, now if only our school system would teach the basics in growing "real food" and even have a garden to feed our kids while in their care. As with everything, education is the key to change. Teach the kids, they will teach the parents.

7 billion, all eating better, and counting

Tax cheaters

Is there anyone who isn't? I mean really, everyone has cheated on taxes. I've often wondered why this goes on as the means to find and punish those offenders is at the governments disposal. I read today with amusement that the Greek government had found up to 60% of corporations had cheated, in some ares the figure was up over 80%. I would guess that this area had some very skilled accountants that used some kind of formula to beat the tax man.
In the end it would seem like this is everyones right, to do anything possible to avoid paying taxes. Yet we demand better services, better pensions, and well more more more of anything and everything we can get. I personally believe this is the root of corruption, that how connected you are and how good your account is is the deciding factor in how much you pay in taxes.
In ringing out the last few dollars they can in profit these companies do whatever they can to avoid paying. You see it all the time, Google avoids high taxes in England by locating an office in Ireland, Apple holds billions off shore because it does not want to pay taxes if brought back to the USA. I would say that many of these countries do this to themselves by having such a high rate of taxation. I remember artist's like the Beatles, Elton John who had to leave Britton because of the stupid rate of taxation on their earnings.
This is a game that has to stop, that all these governments need to get it together and stop the insanity of this from making all criminals for avoiding these taxes. It is a big merry-go-round in many governments of raising taxes for all but those who support their reelection bids. So how do you stop it?
It has been suggested many times that a flat rate would be fair and easier to enforce. Paying the same as everyone else would take the sting out of trying to cheat. It would create a transparent flow of money that no one could hide and would take the burden off the masses that shoulder more then their share. I think a country like Greece would be a prime place to start this as their economy is totally in the toilet. I also think that this could get favour with the public as a way out of the mess years and years of corruption has brought on their country.
Is being fair something we are not entitled too? Are we supposed to sit by and be blind to all this corruption? What would they write movies about if fairness ruled I wonder.......
7 billion, all paying a "fair share" and counting